KSHITIJ Kumar, a 13-year-old student at City Montessori School (CMS) in Lucknow, India didn't realise he missed having dinner with his dad until he was prompted to think of a 'personal problem' one day. Now since Kshitij told him about his feelings, his father, a railway workshop superintendent, comes back for dinner regularly.
The young student tackled other problems successfully too - ones common to his classmates and students in Hong Kong too - such as time management, how to concentrate on studying and stop watching so much television and how to cope with household chores.
He learned how to handle them after joining one of his school's new Quality Control Circles. Now in regular Sunday morning meetings held at students' homes, Kshitij shares his problems and works out the best solutions together with his schoolmates.
This group problem-solving method was derived from the concept of quality control widely practised in business, where staff deviseways to improve the quality of work through regular meetings.
The movement, which began in Japan and is driven by the Kaizen philosophy which emphasises constant, unending improvement, has had a large following throughout Asia over the past few decades.
Kshitij's school is pioneering the introduction of the business concept into education. CMS's manager Jagdish Gandhi raised the idea among his staff in 1992 following a visit to Japan, where he saw the positive impact the Quality Circle Movement had on the country's economic success and other spheres of life.
CMS principal Dr Vineeta Kamran believes the circles are valuable for children's personal development. 'The meetings often include brainstorming sessions for the children, when every one is prompted to voice his or her problems. This way, they get their problems out of their mind, whether conscious or sub-conscious. They can do things better when they are free in their mind,' Dr Kamran said.
